Louisville got encouraging news on two of its most important newcomers, and it comes at a good time with the season creeping closer.
Pat Kelsey said on Jon Rothstein’s college basketball podcast that Karter Knox and Obinna Ekezie Jr. are both moving in the right direction after offseason surgeries. Kelsey called the update a positive one, saying, "I'm fired up about Obi.
He and Karter are coming off offseason injuries. They both had surgeries," stated Kelsey on the podcast.
"They've progressed, rehabbed, developed. They're ahead of schedule and have done an unbelievable job of that."
That matters for a Louisville team that has spent the offseason piecing together a very different roster. The Cardinals dropped nine of their top 10 players from last season, including all five starters, so Kelsey had to reload quickly through recruiting and the Transfer Portal.
The early signs from the frontcourt have already offered a glimpse of what’s coming. Louisville played its first exhibition of the offseason in July in the Bahamas and beat the Bahamas Raw Talent 101-52. Flory Bidunga was one of the standouts in that game, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, six blocks, and four assists.
Knox and Ekezie were not on the floor for that trip, which made Kelsey’s latest comments even more important for fans waiting to see how healthy they are. The timeline still leaves Louisville with room to breathe, since the Cardinals are less than two months away from their exhibition game against Kansas in Lawrence on October 21 and then open the 2026-27 season against Chattanooga on Monday, November 2.
Ekezie arrives with a massive reputation. He was a 5-star recruit in the 2027 class and climbed as high as No. 2 overall nationally before reclassifying to 2026 and joining Louisville. He was also ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation and the No. 1 center.
Knox brings a different kind of punch. A former 5-star recruit who spent his first two seasons at Arkansas, he came to Louisville through the portal and gives the Cardinals the kind of athletic wing they’ve needed - someone who can score and hold up physically on the defensive end.
For now, the big takeaway is simple: both players are trending up, and Louisville still has time before the games start counting. If Kelsey’s update holds, the Cardinals may have two key pieces ready when they line up against Chattanooga.
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Isaac Brown gives Louisville a big-play element out of the backfield, and the defenses overall efficiency should help keep the game from getting away early if the Cardinals settle in quickly. For a team still trying to prove it belongs in the conversation with a high-end SEC opponent on the road, this is the sort of matchup that can set the tone for the first month, even if the full answer to how far Louisville can push it will have to wait until Saturday. [Read more 🡒]